2008 White Marlin Open Day 3 Live Coverage

[Admin]

Thanks you Dave Sikorski for knocking these photos out.
I will keep uploading these as I have time tonight.

[Admin]

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[Admin]

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[Admin]

Alright day 3 is here and we are at the scale ready to rock and roll. Looks like 19 boats fished today, but we expect some tuna and more at the scales.

No one is at the scale at this time. If anyone has any questions or comments please post them up and we will try to get you the info.

Capt John Eppehimer

Here's the Recap from Day 2:
The first day of the White Marlin Open was quite busy, seeing 41 fish get weighed in a seemingly endless line of boats and fish carts lined up at the scales and across the marina. The second day of fishing though is the one that I will remember for eternity. The Fish Whistle's 81-pound white marlin stood the test of the day's fishing, but there were some shake-ups on the leader board and the empty categories would see the biggest of changes, with the biggest fish that these eye's have ever seen.
The day started out in tuna mode, the first boat at the scales was the C-Hawk, boat number 85 who had a bluefin which pushed almost to the 100-pound mark, coming in at 98.5 pounds. After a qualifying white was landed by the Game Time, the Risky Business with Captain Kobey Treadwell at the helm pulled in with a significant bluefin tuna on deck. The tuna came in at 109 pounds and stands at a current value of $169,000. The next boat to weigh in was another South Jersey boat, the Miss Andrea with another tuna that looked to be even bigger than the one just removed from the scale. The fish fell just one pound short of the mark set by the Risky Business and came in at 108 pounds for second place status and a potential prize worth $65,000. The first wahoo of the tournament was next to appear at the scales and just made the 40-pound minimum for the tournament, with an official weight of 40.5 pounds. It was caught on the Fin Chaser by George McClean and is worth a potential $2,500 if it stands until Friday night.
The big news of day two came next, as rumors of a boat with a reportedly huge blue marlin on board filtered through the crowds waiting at the scales. We didn't have to wait for too long, and while the Fin Chaser's wahoo was photographed on the scale, attention was quickly drawn to the massive billfish that stretched the full length of the Morgan, NJ based Last Run's cockpit. It didn't take much experience to know that this would be a big moment for the tournament and those watching as the White Marlin Open staff struggled to haul the brute over the gunnel and onto a scale that at first look appeared too short to lift the marlin's bill clear of the dock boards.
The big blue took several tries before it was able to be clearly weighed and the scale danced over the 900-pound mark, finally bottoming out just short of the tournament record at 935.5 pounds, also just missing the Maryland state record. Regardless it was the second largest blue marlin ever weighed in the history of the White Marlin Open, and stands solidly in first place leaving the boat from Raritan Bay, NJ the heir apparent for a $680,000 check. The lucky angler who fought the fish was Robert Lockwood, while Mike Lockwood worked the helm in the battle against the giant fish.
The fish came up originally on the outside rigger, chasing a ballyhoo fished on 50-pound class tackle. The crew were able to smartly pull the comparatively light tackle away from the beast and teased it into eating a Spanish mackerel bait on more properly sized Penn International 130 with matching 130-pound line. The battle against the 13-foot plus blue lasted for 2 hours before the gaffs were sunk. The rest of the crew, Ryan Walczak, George Boulieris and Bob McClean spent 15 minutes laboring to bring the blue aboard before heading into the scale to stun the waiting crowd.
The rest of the afternoon was spent weighing smaller whites, short of the top three places though all quality fish. There was also a 105-pound weighed by the Let It Ride which moved them into fourth place in the tuna division. The Bluewater brought a new leading dolphin to the scale at 44 pounds. The Sea Toy also came in late on the second day with a dolphin, this one going 41.5 pounds and good enough to edge out second place and push the Lagasea's 38-pound fish into third place just a few scant minutes earlier. Another empty spot that had it's first qualifying fish was the shark division which saw the Waterman come in with a 110.5-pound qualifying mako caught by Donnie Scrivener possibly worth $4,500 if it stands the test of time and remains in the top spot when Friday's fishing ends.
It's been an action-packed White Marlin Open already and with three days left to fish it's likely that there will be much more excitement at the scales and in the cockpits of the competitor boats before it is all over. Wednesday looks like it will be a big lay day for the tournament fleet, but there will be some boats that strike out looking to top the leader board with their own catches. Only time will tell which boats can hold onto their early leads and maintain their spots in the money. This is big game tournament fishing, and all of the competitors know that a bigger fish is sure to be swimming somewhere in the offshore waters. It's just a matter of timing, luck and skill that will decide who goes home with the money and who goes home with a heartbreak story of a fish that didn't quite measure up.




LEADERBOARD

All money values are estimated. As fish come in, money will fluctuate. These estimates are for educational purposes only, and should not be considered official.

White Marlin

Boat	Angler	Weight	Est. Prize
Fish Whistle	Tommy Hinkle Berlin, MD	81.0	$1,100,000.00
CGI Finance	Bill Scott Baltimore, MD	71.5	$80,000.00
DA Sea	John Conrad Lititz, PA	71.5	$80,000.00
Liquid Asset / FishOCMD.com Ocean Pines, MD	Kenny Reed Berlin, MD	68.0
Lucky Duck II	Tina Boykin Middletown, MD	67.5
Big Hunter	David King Wake Forest, NC	66.5
Ohana Spencer 66 Georgetown, Cayman Islands	Thomas B. Mclister Middletown MD	66.0
Game Time	Joe Weschler Kensington, MD	66.0

Blue Marlin

Boat	Angler	Weight	Est. Prize
Last Run Morgan, NJ	Robert Lockwood South Amboy,NJ	935.5	$680,000.00

Tuna

Boat	Angler	Weight	Est. Prize
Risky Business	Dan McCarthy Avalon, NJ	109.0	$169,000.00
Miss Andrea Cape May, NJ	John McBride Wildwood Crest, NJ	108.0	$65,000.00
Ocean Dan-Sar	Shawn R Cook Hartly, DE	106.5	$26,000.00
Let It Ride Fair Haven, NJ	Arthur Kontos Fair Haven, NJ	105.0
Pretty Work	Robert D Krug Walltownship, NJ	104.0
C. Hawk	Rodney Arbogast Federalsburg, MD	98.5
Alana Ken Margate, NJ	Harry E Pinker Kirkwood, PA	96.5
CERVEZA Pirates Cove, NC	Steve Schmeusser Wilmington, DE	96.5
Warrior	Anthony J Chieffo Harleysville, PA	93.0
Game Time	Robbie Burke Fairfax, VA	90.0
Fin-Ness Harkers Island	Kennith Chouinard Ridgley, MD	86.5
No Problem Ocean City, MD	Mark Barbato Wilmington, DE	84.0
Kingfisher	Sean W Denny Laurel, MD	80.5
Bu-Bucca	Thomas G Weidman North Cape May, NJ	77.0
Canyon Hunter	Don Schline Phoenix, MD	76.5
Sea Hunt Ocean City, MD	Eric Bridges Royal Oak, MD	76.0
Canyon Hunter	Tim Odachowski Marriottsville, MD	75.0
All In Ocean City MD	Mark Stearns Berlin, MD	71.0
Heart To Heart Brielle, NJ	Phillip Infantolino Brielle, NJ	70.5
Kingfisher	Tom Jones Crownsville, MD	69.0
Last Run Morgan, NJ	Brian Walezak Morgan,NJ	69.0
Just Released	James McIlhinney Wildwood Crest, NJ	68.0
Fin-Ness Harkers Island	Bill Bondarchuk Essington, PA	67.5
Got-R-Done	Guy Fielder Havre de Grace, MD	63.5
All In Ocean City, MD	Michael Channell Berlin, MD	63.5

Dolphin

Boat	Angler	Weight	Est. Prize
Bluewater	Earle Hall Hampton, VA	44.0	$2,000.00
Sea Toy	Larry McKinley Islamorada,FL	41.5	$3,000.00
The Legasea	Bobby Pastorius Boynton Beach, FL	38.0	$2,000.00
Endeavor Ocean City, MD	Phil Key Millers Island, MD	36.5
DA Sea	Mike Dent Pomfret, MD	36.0
Sea Toy	Jim Holmes Pinehurst, NC	33.5
Sea Splendour	Ken J Brown Glenmoore, PA	32.0
Chrissy B	Richard D Bogert Toms River, NJ	30.5
Sea Toy	Jim Holmes Pinehurst, NC	29.5
Wirenut	John E Sippel Glenarm, MD	29.0
Non Typical	Jeff Greenwood Ocean City, MD	29.0
The Verdict Sea Girt, NJ	John L Berrey Sperry, OK	26.5
Sweet Water	Jason Connelle Port Deposit, MD	26.0
Dealer Incentive West Palm Beach, FL	Gavin Boucher Harwinton, CT	25.0
Get-R-Done	Scott Peters Bishopville, MD	23.5
El Pronto Ocean City, MD	James M Gardiner Salisbury, MD	22.0

Wahoo

Boat	Angler	Weight	Est. Prize
Fin Chaser	George R Maclean Reading, PA	40.5	$4,500.00
DA Sea	Valerie Dunn Grasonville, MD	39.5	$3,500.00

Shark

Boat	Angler	Weight	Est. Prize
Waterman	Donnie G Scrivener Huntingtown, MD	110.5	$6,500.00

[O-SEA-D]

Thanks for bringing us the action SFC.

[SeaBiscuit]

Captain John,
thanks for the fantastic coverage. I did not think you could do better than last year, but you certainly have.
We appreciate all the hard work you and your team are putting into this.
Cheers,
Nick

[cascoli]

Great job John. I know you have heard it before. While the WMO "MarlinCAM" was showing us the backend of the action, or no action - you were upfront. Well done.

[Admin]

Also, for anyone that's around the Sunset Marina, stop by and see Sportfishermen.com's on the water HQ on dock F aboard the 35-foot Bandy. We've got free t-shirts and stickers to give away and it's a great boat to check out. 30-plus knots on a single inboard diesel and composite construction makes it a unique boat, so stop by, check out the boat and hang out with the crew from Sportfishermen here in Ocean City.

[gradywhite273]

any idea who is leading the release division ?

[Double D]

John-

If I ever have a money fish hanging from the scales, I want you there taking pics. Really nice stuff

Only a few boats fished today, go get yourself a crush

D